Movie Diary

1. The IllusionistThis was alright, although kind of underwhelming, and it looks like The Prestige might do something much more effective with similiar material. I think I just never got caught up in it enough for the twist to hit me very hard, although I wasn't exactly expecting it either. And while I've made no secret of my Giamatti hate, I thought he was pretty good and subtle in this. They did a pretty good job of de-Maxim-ifying Jessica Biel and making her believable in the role, too.

2. The ForgottenI was always intrigued by the trailers for this enough that I wanted to see it, but now that I actually have I'm kinda lukewarm on it. It was like an X-Files episode where they managed to get through a whole story arc that confirmed some spooky alien power while showing you as little of it as possible and wrapping it all up pretty tidily by the end. But then, it's a movie and the end is the end, so it feels a little more unsatisfactory than a show that will continue next week. The "A Friendly Man" character was totally creepy, though. And it was cool to see McNulty in a movie.

3. Trees LoungeI love Steve Buscemi but it really was hard to watch this without wanting to make a joke about how the only way he'd ever get a lead role with a love interest is if he wrote and directed it himself.

4. Dog ParkBruce McCulloch is maybe my favorite Kid In The Hall, and his Shame-Based Man LP is my favorite comedy album of all time, but somehow I never got around to seeing his debut feature as a director until recently (although it seems like the movies he's directed since, Superstar and Stealing Harvard, are worth avoiding). I was a little surprised how much of a light, traditional rom-com it was, considering how dark and conceptual a lot of the KITH sketches he directed were. A couple old KITH bits did pop up, though, in reworked forms (the answering machine message, someone stealing a bike but leaving a wheel behind, etc). Mostly it was a lot like several Luke Wilson vehicles that have been made since. Harland Williams definitely stole a few scenes, his character was just bizarre.

This entry was posted
on Saturday, September 16, 2006 at 3:11 AM.
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